The clock finally strikes 6.
It's been a long day at work, and all you can think about now is to grab some delicious food on your way home. Following the aroma of what smelled like freshly cooked meat, you come across this new resetaurant called Ensemble which features a mix of dishes from around the world.
(text-style:"sway")[[Push door to enter the restaurant]]"Welcome to Ensemble! Party of one?"
"Yes, just me tonight."
"Okay! Follow me this way please."
You are seated at a small wooden table.
"Here's the menu. Let me bring some water for you too."
"Awesome, thank you!"
You take a sip of the iced water and [[open the menu]]Beef Tacos ---------------------$15
Made with premium beef, this recipe features perfectly seasoned groud beef slowly simmered in a savory beef stock. Every corn tortilla is handmade in our own kitchen, and you have the choice to make it soft or crispy. Coupled with our house-special salsa, sour cream, and jelepeño shredded cheese for a spicy yet creamy kick, believe us when we say this dish will take you straight to the streets of Mexico!
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.jessicagavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ground-beef-tacos-4-1200.jpg>
</div>
*Not on menu*: [[The Real Cost of Beef Tacos]]Polyface Steak --------------------$80
The beef of Polyface Steak comes straight from the clean Polyface Farm located in rural Swoope, Virginia. Different from traditional ways of animal agriculture, this farm uses a technique called [[rotational grazing]] to produce tender, juicy steaks with sustainability in mind.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.cookingclassy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/steak-marinade-12.jpg>
</div>Porchetta di Ariccia Sandwich -------------------$18
Porchetta di Ariccia is a savory, moist, pork roast originated from Rome, Italy. Pigs are deboned and stuffed with various kinds of seasoning such as fennel, rosemary, and garlic, before being slowly roasted over an open wood fire. The juicy meat and cripsy skin will then get chopped up and put in between two pieces of slightly toasted sourdough bread. Fresh spinach and sautéed mushrooms and onions are part of this beautiful sandwich as well.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/EsigOEiUZpZlJ-OFmZ2YPoz5Pz7SDqx-wcTNyQnxV8o8GIojSYeA3ZX_cFufZIa3mMvv3Qs0HcBolV0b5PB9tRpAgbvhk3uhUV65ncwgAUZnZvIjqcIP0DIqAWWzrj30X36utMZ9JZ_ShoWuOsHPYaQSL8-XU9uNpqQP>
</div>
*Not on menu*: [[The Real Cost of Pork Sandwich]] The Future Burger --------------------$120
The burger patty is like no other. It is made of synthetic meat originally created by Dr. Mark Post using stem cells technology in hopes of finding alternative solutions for meat production aside from the current meat production process that is extremely harmful for the environment. The synthetic meat can be produced in 7 weeks, much less than the amount of time it takes for cows to grow to the necessary size for them to be sent to the slaughter house. On the other hand, this meat is very costly with the first patty costing the team of researchers more than $325,000.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRh9b7OM4WZDEprxJZHJ1yapM3eVMJ2ke0hVJlcNU1K5JTVGdrZ-BVasHBEFPJ5qCZmFuA&usqp=CAU>
</div>
Back to the [[menu]]Potato and Beef Stew --------------------$23
This Chinese-inspired dish features beef, potatos, and carrots all carefully simmered together in a vegetable stock with premium red wine. It takes about 5 hours for the slow cooker to complete this delectable concoction. It is the perfect, hearty dish for a chilly night.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://redhousespice.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chinese-beef-stew-.jpg>
</div>
*Not on menu*: [[The Real Cost of Beef Stew]]Though the price of beef tacos is $15 on the menu, there is actually a much larger cost - [[the lives of cattle]] and [[extreme usage of land]]
Back to the [[menu]]The price of beef stew may be $23 on the menu, but there is a much larger cost - [[depletion of water]] and [[air pollution]].
Back to the [[menu]]The price of porchetta di ariccia sandwich may be $18 on the menu, but there is a much larger cost - [[water pollution]].
Back to the [[menu]]''Rotational Grazing'' is an integrated system that involves moving animals through the pasture to not only improve soil and plants, but also the animals’ health. With this practice, each day the cows get essentially a new salad bar or a new area of grass to graze on, which is more representative of the traditional way they graze and the natural role of herbivores. In this way, it can provide rest periods for plants while other areas of land are being grazed on. Animals would also each have a role in integrating this system together where the chickens are brought into the land that the cows were previously grazing on. The chickens would then help to break down the feces into the soil and sanitize the area before cows come back for grazing.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.millbornseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Rotational-Grazing-Graphic-1-1020x1024.png
>
</div>
While this practice is much ''more environmentally friendly'', it can be more costly to maintain as it requires more time, labor, land, and money. Hence, meat products produced by this method have much ''higher prices on the market''.
Back to the [[menu]]Please click to view the next item:
[[Beef Tacos]] $15
[[Potato and Beef Stew]] $23
[[Porchetta di Ariccia Sandwich]] $18
[[Polyface Steak]] $80
[[The Future Burger]] $120
Whenever you are ready, (text-style:"buoy")[[make a final choice]]Ensemble is famous for having a mix of dishes from around the world. A few of them especially peak your interest:
[[Beef Tacos]] $15
[[Potato and Beef Stew]] $23
[[Porchetta di Ariccia Sandwich]] $18
[[Polyface Steak]] $80
[[The Future Burger]] $120
Click each item to view a longer description. We totally understand your choice and that the financial cost for individuals is also an important consideration. Environmental catastrophies due to unsustainable animal agriculture is a systematic problem that needs changes by all stakeholders.
Enjoy your meal!
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.jessicagavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ground-beef-tacos-4-1200.jpg>
</div>
(text-style:"sway")[[Three years later]]We totally understand your choice and that the financial cost for individuals is also an important consideration. Environmental catastrophies due to unsustainable animal agriculture is a systematic problem that needs changes by all stakeholders.
Enjoy your meal!
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://redhousespice.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chinese-beef-stew-.jpg>
</div>
(text-style:"sway")[[Three years later]]We totally understand your choice and that the financial cost for individuals is also an important consideration. Environmental catastrophies due to unsustainable animal agriculture is a systematic problem that needs changes by all stakeholders.
Enjoy your meal!
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.millbornseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Rotational-Grazing-Graphic-1-1020x1024.png
>
</div>
(text-style:"sway")[[Three years later]]Thank you for prioritizing the environment, despite the high financial cost of the meal. Enjoy!
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.cookingclassy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/steak-marinade-12.jpg>
</div>
(text-style:"sway")[[Three years later]]Thank you for prioritizing the environment, despite the high financial cost of the meal. Enjoy!
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRh9b7OM4WZDEprxJZHJ1yapM3eVMJ2ke0hVJlcNU1K5JTVGdrZ-BVasHBEFPJ5qCZmFuA&usqp=CAU>
</div>
(text-style:"sway")[[Three years later]]
You wave to the server and ask him to come over.
"What can I get for you tonight?"
[[Beef Tacos?]] $15
[[Potato and Beef Stew?]] $23
[[Porchetta di Ariccia Sandwich?]] $18
[[Polyface Steak?]] $80
[[The Future Burger?]] $120
Things have not been going well at your workplace lately. Your boss asks you to meet her in her office.
Bad news came. The company has been losing a lot of money and is currently considering cutting emplyees. Unfortunately, your boss might have to let you go...
After packing up your belongings in the office, you walk out onto the street and see the restaurant Ensemble again.
(text-style:"sway")[[Enter the restaurant]]Currently, in the US the slaughterhouses process around 300,400 cattle an hour which is almost twice as many as anywhere else in the world. In just one slaughterhouse, they would process around 1,500 cattles for slaughter on one feedlot per day. With this speed of slaughtering and production, it can lead to many food-safety problems with contamination during the entire process being one of the leading health issues.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://i.natgeofe.com/n/b213a1f9-7868-4bf1-a601-e7f081c394d3/bell_jungle250216_4x3.jpg
>
</div>
Back to [[The Real Cost of Beef Tacos]]Even before the whole slaughtering process, the amount of land used to grow the cows far exceeds the production of other foods. Around 70% of the land agriculture is devoted to meat production which is around one third of the total surface area of all land on Earth.
<style> img {
max-width: 60%;
max-height: 60%}
</style>
<img
src=https://preview.redd.it/lz9lkpp65ms41.jpg?auto=webp&s=44ba05a1cd14728bbe61d47870f268eef083d674
>
</div>
Back to [[The Real Cost of Beef Tacos]]In order to overfeed the cows and bulk them up as fast as possible, it takes a lot of resources that go into growing their main food source: corn. It takes about 2500 gallons of water to produce the necessary quantity of corn bushels if a cow eats around 50 bushels of corn in its time in the feedlot. This means that under the industrial model, we need 125,000 gallons of water per animal. Currently, feeding lots are taking large amounts of free water from the Ogallala Aquifer which contributes to keeping the price of mass produced beef artificially low. However, behind this, the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted at an animal volume that is equivalent to 18 Colorado Rivers. The water depletion can further be detrimental to aquatic life as it pushes certain fish species to extinction.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://ak.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/3839672/thumb/1.jpg
>
</div>
Back to [[The Real Cost of Beef Stew]]
The large quantities of cattle needed to satisfy the current demand for meat has further resulted in air pollution and the contribution to global warming. There is not enough atmosphere to absorb the carbon dioxide and methane released from the cattle which contributes to the carbon footprint and worsened the already problematic global warming issue. Currently, cattle are the number 1 agriculture contributor of greenhouse gases worldwide with a single cow producing around 220 pounds of methane a year. Even though the methane is shorter lived compared to carbon dioxide, it is approximately 28 times more potent in contributing to global warming.
<style> img {
max-width: 60%;
max-height: 60%}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ES-COW-GAS-GRAPHIC-COMP-v2.jpg
>
</div>
Back to [[The Real Cost of Beef Stew]]In the meat production industry for pork, feeding lots contained with pigs are set up in a way to directly connect to lagoons. Because the ground simply cannot absorb so many urine and feces from the hogs, this waste is ultimately fed into the lagoons. When looking at one specific case in Duplin county of North Caroline, they found that there were as many as 12 lagoons just within a five mile radius. Additionally, many times these lagoons are created very close to nearby creeks resulting in water pollution and detrimental health effects for those that drink out of those bodies of water. For North Carolina, one fifth of the population there drink out of the Cape Fear Basin. Further, the elevation of bacteria and increase in water pollution can result in the increased price of water as it takes more technology and resources to treat them.
<style> img {
max-width: 45%;
max-height: 45%}
</style>
<img
src=https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59c2e676e5dd5b5a3e5066bc/1538168617812-83EO0ORD9Q5028VPXNDP/pinkmanurelagoon.jpg
>
</div>
Back to the [[menu]]"Welcome to Ensemble! Party of one?"
"Yes, just me tonight."
"Okay! Follow me this way please."
You are seated at a small wooden table.
"Here's the menu."
"Awesome, thank you! Can I have some iced water too?"
"I'm sorry but tap water costs $3 now"
"Oh, why?"
"Due to extreme water pollution from lagoons in the pork production process, the government needs to pay more for better water treatment; hence, no more free water at restaurants for people."
"I see, I'll pass then. Thank you."
You look at the menu again, and you are ready to [[make a choice]]. You wave to the server and ask him to come over.
"What can I get for you tonight?"
[[Beef Tacos?]] $15
[[Potato and Beef Stew?]] $23
[[Porchetta di Ariccia Sandwich?]] $18
Polyface Steak? $80
The Future Burger? $120
Unfortunately, you can no longer afford the more environmental-friendly options even though you would like to help with sustainability. It is a harsh social reality.
This makes you think about [[other ways you can contribute]] to changing the meat production industry and market as a whole to address this problem systematically. Ways you can contribute!
* Consume less meat and encourage family and friends to do the same --> decrease demand
* Support local food and farmers
* Advocate
** Learn how the local food and farm systems work and who holds power
** Talk to local officials
** Keep up with sustainable farming programs, policies, and practices